In Times New Roman... is the eighth studio album by Americanrock bandQueens of the Stone Age, released on June 16, 2023, throughMatador Records.[3] It was announced in a video teaser on May 9, 2023,[6] and is the band's first album sinceVillains (2017).[7] The announcement occurred alongside the release of the lead single, "Emotion Sickness".[8] The band is currently touring North America and Europe in support of the record.[6][9]In Times New Roman... marks the conclusion of the band's trilogy of albums released through Matador that began with...Like Clockwork (2013).
In an interview withNME ahead of the album's release, Homme spoke on how life events had an influence on the recording ofIn Times New Roman...:
"I think when you're dealing with the extreme ups and downs of life, you don't stop and go: 'I should really make a record.' Those things don't exist in that moment. If your roof is flooding, you don't say: 'We should make a record about this!' You have to stop yourself drowning in a flood. We recorded it probably two-and-a-half years ago, but it just sat there waiting to be finished. I didn't sing it until last November. I wasn't done living. Honestly, I was probably afraid. I wasn't ready. You need the flood to be over, and then you can decide whether you can accept the flood. I think with this being a record about acceptance, you need to actually get there yourself."[10]
In Times New Roman... received a score of 80 out of 100 on review aggregatorMetacritic based on 19 critics' reviews, indicating "generally favorable" reception.[12] Thomas Smith ofNME describedIn Times New Roman... as "a grotty listen, using pain to encourage a rawness in their sound that's been absent since 2007'sEra Vulgaris" and felt that "with enough fan-service for the die-hards; this is up there with their darkest, knottiest material to date, and will be appreciated all the more for it".[18] Fred Barrett ofSlant Magazine wrote that while the album "abandons the glossy dance-rock of its predecessor, it doesn't do so in favor of exploring new styles, sounds, or textures". Barrett found that the album's highlights "prove that Queens of the Stone Age can still reliably deliver left-of-center alt-rock thrills [...] but after almost three decades of taking on every strand of rock music and embracing both the analog and the digital, it's disheartening, if perhaps understandable, that the band seems unsure of where to go next."[21]
Reviewing the album forExclaim!, Spencer Nafekh-Blanchette wrote that "the band has moved away from their roots in some regards, but remain completely the same in others", elaborating that "the new LP takes their unique alternative rock to new dimensions, swapping uptempo rock n' roll jolts for a slow-yet-unnerving new groove. It's an album that's sure to please all listeners, but only truly satisfy real fans of the band."[1] Simon K. of Sputnikmusic opined that the band have "delivered something very familiar, but with just enough new things in it to make it somewhat fresh" and that the album "seems to trade in peaks and troughs for steadfast songwriting", despite finding that there are no "top-tier tracks you could stick on the quintessential Queens playlist".[20]
Writing forPitchfork, Zach Schonfeld called it the band's "heaviest, angriest work since 2007's underratedEra Vulgaris", and felt that "Homme chips away the chrome-plated dance-rock machinations of 2017'sMark Ronson-producedVillains and tries to restore the band to a bluesy primitivity". Schonfeld also remarked that the album's "most compelling tracks deepen the anger with flashes of humor and wry introspection" and its "best songs [...] are hiding in the back half".[19]
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